Netflix figures the ISPs’ cost per GB is under a penny. So they’re charging 15,000% markup.

15,000%.

If you go to “Web Tools Technical Guides”:

http://www.usps.com/webtools/technical.htm

And click on “Address Information (HTML)”:

http://www.usps.com/webtools/Address-Information-v3-1.htm

You get a “page not found” (404) error.

File or Page Requested Not Found

The file or page that you requested could not be found. The link you
followed may be broken or expired.
Please return to our Homepage, or use the search box above to find
what you are looking for.
Use a word or phrase that you think may be found on the page you are
looking for.
We apologize for any inconvenience this might cause.

Please fix this.

thanks.

I got this reply back — a form letter for somebody trying to set up an account:

from USPS Internet Customer Care Center
date Tue, Oct 12, 2010 at 11:11 AM
subject RE: On web tools page, link to technical guides is broken
mailed-by usps.com

Dear USPS Customer,

Please provide the information below to apply for address verify:

Web Tools ID
Company URL

Say “Yes” or “No” to all the options below indicating how you plan to use Address Information APIs:

U.S. Postal Service package shipments
Non-U.S. Postal package service shipments
U.S. Postal Service letters
U.S. Postal Service catalogs or periodicals
Address database cleansing
Address batch processing
Address transactional processing

Thank you,

Trey
USPS Internet Customer Care Center
icustomercare@usps.com

As our customer, your privacy is important to us. Please see our privacy policy at www.usps.com

——————————————————-
The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon, this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any computer.
——————————————————-
(01)

From: DVD Customer Service
Date: September 27, 2010 1:06:56 PM EDT
To: Paul Schreiber Subject: Re: Jack & Bobby

Dear User,

We would like to inform you that the availability of a particular set
can only be checked on our website while placing the order.

Customer Support Team

On Mon, Sep 27, 2010 at 6:01 AM, Paul Schreiber wrote:
Is this item in stock?

http://www.tvaddicts.tv/movie/drama/Jack_And_Bobby.html

Paul

Since I have most of my points/miles with Air Canada’s Aeroplan—also a member of Star Alliance—I thought that would be good news.

It’s not.

There’s no way to combine points from both programs to get an award, and no way to move points from from one Star Alliance partner to another.

Update 2012-02-17: NAC SKI has now updated their Yelp page with contact information:
2635 N 1st St
Ste 242
San Jose, CA 95131
(408) 922-0182

They even hide their information in the whois database:

Registrant:
Domains by Proxy, Inc.
DomainsByProxy.com
15111 N. Hayden Rd., Ste 160, PMB 353
Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
United States

Registered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: NACSKI.COM
Created on: 10-Dec-03
Expires on: 10-Dec-10
Last Updated on: 28-Aug-08

But nacski.org shows the contact information:

Charlie Ma
NAC SKI, LLC
1376 Tanaka Drive
San Jose CA 95131
+1 408-802-7889
cma@nacski.com

This is the same information listed in the California Secretary of State‘s business entity detail page:

The complaints piled up in my mind, but it wasn’t until I returned from my overseas trip that I was aggravated enough to write them down.

Here’s the letter I sent to Jeff Bezos:

Hi Jeff,

I have been a customer of Amazon’s for a decade. I’ve been very satisfied with the products I’ve ordered from Amazon and the customer service I’ve received. I’ve purchased products directly from Amazon, from other vendors who use Amazon’s web interface and from storefront merchants.

Three years ago, I re-evaluated all of my banking relationships. When picking a no-fee rewards card, I considered two options: Amazon and REI. I chose Amazon.

I’ve been quite disappointed with Chase. My problems with them fall in to four categories, the last of which was disturbing enough to prompt me to write.

1. The process for redeeming rewards certificates is broken. Here’s how it works:
   1. I spend enough money to earn an Amazon gift certificate
   2. They mail me a paper gift certificate
   3. I enter this information in to the Amazon web site
   4. I recycle the gift certificate.

   Paper? Really? What a waste. At a minimum, they could email me the gift certificate code. Ideally, you’d just credit my account directly.

   Recently, Chase replaced my Visa card with a Visa Signature card. They claimed they had improved the rewards program. I haven’t figured out what they’ve improved, but it’s not the important part (getting the Amazon gift certificate).

2. Chase’s purchase protection and extended warranty services are poor.
   1. The damage protection covers a very limited number of sources of damage, (AmEx covers damage, regardless of its cause.)
   2. The process for filing a claim is slow and involves lots of paper forms and mailing this. (AmEx lets you do this online or by fax.)

3. Last year, I went to New Zealand and Australia. Before I left, I called my credit card companies to inform them I would be out of the country.

   AmEx:

   • Told me it wasn’t necessary to call, and I would have been fine.
   • Charges 2.7% on transactions

   Chase:

   • Told me it was essential to call
   • Charges 3% on transactions
   • Tried to upsell me on some bullshit identity theft protection service, and tried to make me feel guilty/scared when I declined

4. Chase provides exceptionally limited transaction information.

   Before the statement arrives, you see:

   • Transaction Date
   • Posting Date
   • Amount, in USD
   • Transaction Number
   • Company name

   At the end of the month, you finally see:

   • Foreign currency amount and exchange rate

   With AmEx, you immediately see:

   • Date
   • Amount, in USD
   • Transaction Number
   • Company name
   • Company address
   • Company phone number
   • Company DBA name
   • Company category
   • Foreign currency amount

   Having the company DBA name and address were exceptionally valuable in allowing me to verify the transactions on my trip. In the case of Chase, I had to go over my schedule and make overseas phone calls to figure out who, for example, AUSTCORP NO 605 PTY, was.

Overall, Chase provides a subpar customer experience that isn’t in line with Amazon’s. It’s both frustrating your customers and sullying your good name.

I urge you to drop Chase for a more capable, friendly bank for your Amazon Visa card.

Paul

The Hertz Corporation
PO Box 26120
Oklahoma City, OK 73126-0120
888-777-6095 x4036
405-290-2899 fax
customerrelations@hertz.com

Williams said he attempted to use the man’s cell phone signal to locate him, but the man was behind on his phone bill and the Verizon operator refused to connect the signal unless the sheriff’s department agreed to pay the overdue bill. After some disagreement, Williams agreed to pay $20 on the phone bill in order to find the man. But deputies discovered the man just as Williams was preparing to make arrangements for the payment.
…
“I was more concerned for the person’s life,” Williams said. “It would have been nice if Verizon would have turned on his phone for five or 10 minutes, just long enough to try and find the guy. But they would only turn it on if we agreed to pay $20 of the unpaid bill. Ridiculous.”

Given the image, any commentary by me would be totally unnecessary.

My coworker Pete suggested I have a little fun: give them a copy of the Hertz letter to laugh over. So I did. I also gave Hertz a copy of the Enterprise letter to show that I can be a nice guy sometimes.